The top concern of strength coaches should always be athlete safety. For this reason, the NSCA has compiled a list of resources to raise the standard of care when working as a strength coach at any level. By reading and sharing these examples of standards and guidelines, policies and procedures, position statements on vital topics, mental health best practices, and more, strength coaches can push to increase the safety of athletes around the world.

Dr. Josh Secomb, lecturer in exercise and sport science (strength and conditioning) at the University of Newcastle, talks to the NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, Eric McMahon, about being a self-aware and authentic coach. Topics under discussion include finding new areas to employ different skillsets as practitioners, the value of training progressions and understanding your athletes, and his unique opportunity to research and coach surfers. Find Dr. Secomb on Twitter: @37Seco | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs

This excerpt walks strength and conditioning coaches through the Turkish get-up exercise.

Plan your schedule for 2026 NSCA Tactical Annual Training in Orlando. Experience practical, hands-on sessions and social events. Join us in person for 2.0 CEUs.

This excerpt from NSCA’s Essentials of Sport Science highlights the importance of quantifying training load for both programming and monitoring an athlete’s progression or regression over time.

In the push for personal training sales, many gyms will use assessment protocols as a way to prove to clients that they can indeed benefit from personal training. This article examines the merits behind this concept.

The purpose of this article is to propose a training model for the aging firefighter to improve the athletic qualities of aerobic fitness and muscular strength so that they may remain healthier longer into their careers.

Scenarios that provide a stimulus relevant to the sporting environment may help athletes develop better anticipation skills through the refinement of search strategies, response speed and accuracy, pattern recognition, and decision-making abilities.

Brianna Battles believes athleticism does not end when motherhood begins. Frustrated by the lack of resources and support for pregnant and postpartum athletes, she founded Everyday Battles to bridge the gap. Now, she empowers everyone from Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighters and Olympians to hobbyists to challenge their perceived fragility, navigate body and identity changes, and pursue a lifetime of athleticism. Battles notes how strength and conditioning coaches are uniquely poised to influence communities and train general populations using a top-down coaching philosophy. Conducting needs analyses, she focuses on their athletic history, predispositions, and how they manage breathing, pressure, and tension during movement. By reverse-engineering a proactive return to performance, she helps clients overcome social media glorification and fearmongering to design an athlete-mom life that serves them. Battles discusses tapping into the “athlete brain” that craves routine and buy-in. Her advice? Get curious, practice brave, and embrace entrepreneurship as another form of progressive overload. Connect with Brianna on Instagram: @brianna.battles and @pregnant.postpartum.athlete or by email at: brianna@briannabattles.com | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs This episode discusses new CASCE field experience requirements that dictate a minimum of two substantially different work experiences. Learn more about CASCE accreditation at NSCA.com/CASCE.

The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) Foundation Board of Directors recognizes Joseph P. Weir, PhD, FNSCA, as our prestigious 2025 Legacy Scholarship Honoree.